Oklahoma City residents and Thunder fans lined the streets along barricades, preparing to celebrate their champions.
After the OKC Thunder captured the title of NBA Champions by winning Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, June 22, the city announced a Championship Parade would take place in midtown and downtown.
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But how many people could show up? And how will the crowd size compare to Oklahoma City’s population?
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OKC population size
Oklahoma City’s estimated population as of July 1, 2024 is 712,919, according to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
OKC Thunder Championship Parade crowd expectations
Thunder fans wait for the Oklahoma City Thunder to celebrate their first NBA Finals title win with a champions parade throughout downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
The crowd size for the Oklahoma City Thunder Championship Parade is expected to be the largest OKC has ever seen.
It could be similar in size to the 2021 championship parade for the Milwaukee Bucks, which was attended by an estimated 500,000.
Can OKC handle such a big crowd?
While so many people downtown would be unprecedented for Oklahoma City, and traffic will be complicated by the lack of mass public transportation, the city can point to past experiences with crowds.
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Oklahoma City Boulevard and Scissortail Park were designed to host large celebrations, and the park can handle 30,000 people as evidenced during its opening day in 2019. And during the annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, there are more than 25,000 runners each year in addition to the crowds that cheer them on.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What is OKC’s population? How city compares to parade crowd forecast
